Improvement in car-brakes



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J ONAH SADLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOE OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TOTHOMAS P. STEPHENSON, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 157,697, dated December15, 1874; application filed September 14, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J ONAH SADLER, of the city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Device for Operating Oar-Brakes;and I hereby declare the following to be a full and clear descriptionthereof, which will enable others to use my improved brake-connections.

This invention consists in the application of a crank, having a slidingrateheted sleeve, to the brake-rod, so arranged as to automaticallyengage the brake-rod when the crank is operated in the directionrequired to apply the brake, and a clutch, operated by a lever andtreadle, is used to disengage the aforesaid ratcheted crank from thebrake-rod when the brake is to be released.

The invention will be readily understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, of which- Figure I is a plan of a car-platformprovided with the improved brake device. Fig. II is a front elevation ofthe same.

The brake-rod A is connected with the carplatform B in the usual manner,and the lower end of the said rod is to have the brake-chain wound uponit for tightening the brakes, as in the ordinary method of tighteningbrakechains. Near the top end of the brake-rod A, and concentric withit, is a ratchet, a, and on the said rod, higher up, is an annularsleeve, 0, fitted to slide up and down on the said brake-rod, and aratchet, 0, formed on the lower end of the said sleeve is arranged toengage the teeth of the ratchet a when the sliding sleeve is throwndown. A crank, G, projecting from the side of the sleeve 0 at or nearits top end, is used to turn the rod A and'set up the brake in the usualmanner. A brakewheel might of course be used in lieu of the crank; but Iprefer the crank, or at least a crank-pin if a wheel is used, for, bythe ratcheted connection between the crank and the brake-rod, theoperator can always apply the crank in the position to secure thegreatest leverage. For the purpose of disengaging the ratchet c from theratchet a, and thereby-releasing the brake instantly, I employ a lever,D, arranged to engage the sleeve 0 and slide it up on the brake-rod. Thelever D is fulcrumed to the post d, which rests on the railing of thecar-platform, and is connected, by means of the link E, with atreadle-lever, F, which lastnarned lever is fulcrumed to theear-platform. When the operator places his foot on the rest f andpresses down, the link E and its connecting-levers are moved in thedirection of the arrows, and the aforesaid rat-chets are therebydisengaged, as required. A spiral spring, 0, within the sleeve isarranged to occupy an annular chamber concentric with the rod A andsleeve 0, and hold the ratchet 0 down upon the ratchet a, except whenthrown up by the action of the treadle-lever F, as above described. Aretaining-ratchet, G, on the lower part of the brake'rod just above thecar-platform, is engaged by the spring-pawl H, so as to hold the brakefirmly set in the usual manner. The pawl H is released from its ratchetsimultaneously with the release of the clutch a c by the action of thesame lever F which has a lug, f, arranged to press against the lever Fand disengage it as the said lever F is pressed down.

The brake-operatin g device herein described is especially adapted touse on street-cars; yet it may be readily applied to steam-cars as well.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. The device for operating acar-brake, consisting of the ratchet brake-rod A a and ratchet-sleeve O0, combined to operate as set forth. 2. The unshipping device,consisting of the parts D E F G H, combined to operate as set forth.

J ON AH SADLER. Witnesses:

FRANKLIN BARRITT, ANToN O. ORONDAL.

